There Was an Elephant in the Bookshelf!

There Was an Elephant in the Bookshelf!

Drop-In Writing for Wee-bots Winter & Spring 2020

There Was an Elephant in the Bookshelf!

Thank you to all of the volunteers who participated in Wee-bots!

Kelsey Miller, Rebecca Turtill-McMacken, Ruohao Li, & Skylar Stevns.

Thank you to our designer and illustrator, Jessica Pace.

Thank you to our Editorial Intern Kate Walsh.

Most i mporta nt, tha nk you to a l l of the Wee-bots! Tha nk you for your creativity, enthusiasm, a nd adaptability!

Keep writing!

There Was an Elephant in the Bookshelf!

826michigan Staff

Dr. Naimah Wade, Executive Director Catherine Calabro Cavin, Education Director Frances Martin, Operations Director Courtney Wise Randolph, Communications & Development Manager Megan Gilson, Program Manager David Hutcheson, Program Engagement Specialist Christina Chang, Student Engagement Associate

Copyright Š 2020 by 826michigan and Blotch Books.

All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, the illustrators, and the authors.

The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826michigan. We believe in the power of youth voice and are thrilled that you picked up this book. No part of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher, except for small excerpts for the purposes of review or scholarly study.

Printed in Ann Arbor, Michigan Design by Jessica Pace Copyedited by Kate Walsh By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit: 826michigan.org

Also Published by 826michigan Young Authors Book Project: The Moons Were Jealous Because No One Else Could Do It 2020: Visions of the [Near] Future In Our Defense Don’t Stay Up So Late In the Clouds Over Ypsilanti How to Rise Or, I Put My Heart into A Moment to Remember the Close Rare Air / Aire raro Tall Tales & True Stories A Lantern of Fireflies Defining Moments Tell Me How It Was Where Is It Coming From?

Enjoy! Recipes for Building Community All I Could Do Was Look Up: Anatomy of a Middle School What to Call the Place I Call Home: Voices of 26 Ypsilanti Middle School Students

An Incomplete List of Chapbooks: 140-Character Fairy Tale Characters And I Did My Best The Big Mess-Up and Other Stories The Big Treasure Should Be Gold Bon Temps Roulez!

Cats Came to the Dog Party The Clouds Spell Detroit Colors Came Out Crazy Soup Cuando los robots atacan Deluxe: Tales from Two Tutoring Labs Detectives on the Caser Flying High The Fog Was Geemy Flying High The Fog Was Geemy Four Years’ Worth of Ice Cream The Golden Nose 2.0 Growl!! Everybody Will Know You He Gets in a Pickle Almost Every Hour He Liked to Hip-Hop All Around Hello Sandwich The Hippo Ate Like a Regular Hippo I Never Want to Leave It Tasted Like the Sun I Use This Pencil To Write Joy Got Up and Laughed

Let’s Make a Bridge Shorter Days Spinach Doughnut The Stars Danced on the Ceiling Talking Back, Giving Thanks, and Why You Should Never Drink the Haterade They Mean the World to Me There Was a Boom in My Ice Cream This is How I Became One of the Greatest Heroes in the History of the World This Rock is Missing Thunder–, Lightning–, and Waterproof!

A Tough Wolf With No Name Training a Shark The Ultimate Tacocat Underworld Archives Up in the Air When the Whales Celebrate Where Everything is Written Where We Danced and Laughed A Whole Bunch of Candy The Wind Shushes and Hushes The Ypsilanti Community Review Zomb, the Formalist

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Introduction The Liberty Street Wee-bots program is a creative writing workshop for elementary school-aged writers that meets every Wednesday. Students are usually between the ages of six and ten and bring a wide range of perspectives to discussions and writing.

We begin each session by reading a story; then, we discuss an aspect of the text. The students write their own stories or poems inspired by that day’s lesson.

Lessons from the 2019-2020 school year include fables, collective nouns, letters, emotions, adventures, collaboration, and rhyme. My favorite part of each session is when the Bots gather to share their writing.

With such a diverse age group we always get so many original takes on the week’s topic. These Bots are a funny, thoughtful, adventurous group of writers.

They are also adaptable! The pandemic couldn’t stop the Wee-bots; they continued to bring their creativity, humor, and enthusiasm to online classes. We here at 826michigan are ecstatic to share their writing with you! Enjoy!

—Claire Stano Wee-bots Workshop Leader P.S. If you have a favorite picture book which might inspire a future lesson, drop us a line! We’re always looking for new suggestions!

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Andy Han Age 10 Logan Elementary

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Bob the Feeli ng Ghost When it was the first day of school, I had a feeling ghost following me all around.

The first time I walked in, Bob would not leave me.

I said, “Leave me alone!”

The ghost said, “Oh, oh, oh” and would not leave my side! I just ignored him and really wanted a friend.

The next day, I asked him, “Hey, why don’t you leave my side?”

“I’m just scared, ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh.”

At school I was in the gym to find someone to play with. I decided to leave when a boy came out of the curtain and said, “Can I play?”

“Sure!” I replied. Afterward we were friends, playing together at recess, math, and also other subjects.

The next day, later in the morning, I saw my ghost was shrinking and shrinking and didn’t stop until he was the size of a bean, then plop! He disappeared!

A week, a month, and a month later another ghost appeared. “Oh no!” I said, but this one was a happy ghost. Wow, it was a happy, happy ghost, so I was never sad and always happy forever.

The end!

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McKenna Galbraith Age 8 Anchor Elementary

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The Elepha nt One morning I woke up and there was an elephant in the bookshelf! I walked downstairs and there was a talking donut! The elephant ate the talking donut. I heard the talking donut in the elephant! I knew what to do! I brought him to the squeeze an elephant zoo. They squeezed him until the donut popped out.

“Should we keep him here?” one of the zookeepers asked.

“Yes,” I said.

The End

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Liliana Yamamoto Age 10 Carpenter Elementary

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Never Shy Agai n Once upon a time there was a girl who was very shy.

She never went outside or ever came out of her room (except for dinner). One day her mother said it was time for school. The girl was awfully afraid but she went. When she got there she was surprised to see all the other kids at the school and they all looked very happy. Meanwhile the girl was still very scared. When her mother left, the teacher called circle and the girl went and sat down.

Her teacher said, “Well, class, we are going to go around the circle and say our names. I’ll start. I’m Ms. Lili.” The kids went turn by turn to say their names.

When it was the girl’s turn, she said quietly, “My name is Lilli.” Then the class kept going. When they did, she calmed down.

Then every day, she was never shy again . Her school helped because every day her attitude improved from shy to very outgoing and she never was shy again.

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Rihito Tsuruzono Age 8 Logan Elementary

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Skii ng When I was three years old I went skiing in Nagano, Japan with my family, and I was so excited to ski, but I didn’t know how to ski. First, I practiced on the grass, and I thought it was fun, and I decided to ski on the snow. A year later, I was four years old, and I went skiing and it was snowing, and I thought it was fun. I took ski school, and first I learned how to ride a lift, and I was ready to ski, and I rode the lift. When I went to the top of the mountain I thought it was scary, but when I skied I thought it was so fun, and I skied lots of times.

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Raymond Manning Age 10 Ann Arbor STEAM

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Angels Who Stopped Believi ng I look at the door, brown and boring, with one window. I peer through. A boring old classroom. I am underwhelmed as much as I am overwhelmed. I feel heat rising. I feel the blood oozing out of my eyes and cuts on my face split open. I touch my cheek, all that rubs off is my tension. I hope one day I will rule.

Streets will burn. Roads explode. It is my canvas to set fire, but for now I keep quiet. But I will not accept the world I live in. My heart is greyed and split apart, the crossing of worlds, the connections held by string, string being pulled apart one strand at a time. I enter. A brown table, rusty hinges. Chalk, white and ghosting. Slimy hands of nasty kids that I refuse to shake. Sometimes I wonder what is running through their heads. What could possibly go wrong to cause people to be so idiotic. But don’t we all think that?

Days end. Years pass. I have stopped believing. I will never be crowned. I will never burn the world’s canvas. All everyone wants is to rule. Why would it be me? I am an angel with red eyes. I am an angel who stopped believing.

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Oliver Bozaan Age 5 Bach Elementary

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My LEGO My toy Lego moved with nobody touching it, and I didn’t know where it was. I asked my mom where it was. “I don’t know where it is either.”

I went looking for it and I couldn’t find it. I went downstairs in the basement and asked my dad. “I don’t know.”

Then I went looking for it again in the basement. And I looked upstairs. But we still couldn’t find it. Then two hours later we found it in the basement.

I put it in my toybox.

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Olivia Yamamoto Age 7 Carpenter Elementary

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No Title When I went to school I felt stressed and sad and mad. I had a tough day, but when I got home my mom made me feel better with my emotions. When I was doing my math I was very stressed, but when I was finished I got to watch TV and my sister played my tablet.

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Noah Han Age 8 Logan Elementary

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The Easy Job There was a guy who didn’t have enough money to buy a thing that he wanted so he worked to get it. It was not easy to earn money so he looked for an easy job. Every time he looked there was no job that looked easy so he left and finally found an easy job but . . . it was out of order. The next day he felt so tired that he slept a lot of hours. Finally he woke up and he decided to give up but he wanted to do one last try. He looked at the newspaper and he was shocked. There was a job that was easy. He got ready and rushed to get everything packed and worked to get money.

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Violet Querijero Age 8 Ann Arbor Open

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Beeny My name is Beeny and I love spaceships. They make me feel at home wherever I am. I have a spaceship building team. I can tell you their names: Keeny, Jeeny, and Keeny. My friends and I, we journeyed across the land to explore new things.

We went across the barrier but it turns out we trod ourselves right into trouble. It was the Lego Friends world and I’m not too pleased but they just knighted two new dragons on their crew. All we had was a spaceship and a rover for the moon which we were not on and a walkie-talkie and metal detector. We hid behind a statue.

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Nonoka Tsuruzono Age 5 Logan Elementary

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No Title A cat sat on the mat Bats eat fruit in the hat Dog and fat rat in the log house

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Tore Teig Age 7 Bach Elementary

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Untitled I went to school. The teacher said, “We have a talking hamster.”

I said, “What? That’s not normal.”

“And we have a magic carpet.”

I said, “Double not normal.”

“Now we are going to the Alps on our magic carpet.”

Everyone said, “Awesome!”

I whispered to myself, “I don’t think this is a normal teacher.”

“Come on,” said Ms. Darik.

“I hope we make it back in one piece,” I said to Mick.

Mick said to me, “I feel weird about this teacher.”

“Me too,” I said. By now the bus was nearly there.

“Now,” said Ms. Darik, “we will use the magic carpet to get up the Alps.”

I felt sick. We flew up the mountain. We had a snow fight We went down the mountain. We went down the classroom. We felt special about that sandwich.

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Arda Karabiyik Age 9 Haisley Elementary

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Importa nt It is important to not litter, because the plants will die.

It is important to help people clean because you are just wasting time.

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Aubrielle Peltier Age 8 Wines Elementary

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Up the Hil ls The sky so blue Up we go to it.

We see stuff on the way Like red and blue Green and yellow Fishes swimming around in water And boats everywhere you can see And here we stop at the cottage.

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Sennen Querijero Age 10 Ann Arbor Open

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I Burn the Ski n I am anger. I follow a girl named Ruby Rose around. My mission is to make her acknowledge me. I tell her it’s a bad thing to share toys. I let her know she can scream at anyone who talks to her. I nearly kill the happiness and remorse and joy and sadness inside her. I imprison them in cages and hide them in the deepest dungeon.

But one day . . . I see another girl, one who doesn’t have money on the side of the road. And something touches the deepest feeling inside me. The girl I follow pulls out a bill. And I pull out the key that unlocks happiness, remorse, joy, and sadness. I shrink and shrink. I lock myself in a cage. I know I need the girl to feel happy and sad and anxious and preoccupied and fearful. But when someone does something that is not right . . .

I unlock myself and do my job.

The End.

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Maya Selvaraj Age 10 Ann Arbor Open

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Ha l loween One halloween night, I was trick or treating with my friend Annabelle, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Holy Cow, this witch has lots of candy. I entered the porch of a slightly purple house. I face Anna, she shivered. I memorized the address, “2951 Spooky Avenue, 2951 Spooky Avenue,” I say aloud.

“Huh? What are you saying? Wait—is it just me, or is that a flying cat?” Anna asks.

“Annabelle Rachel Connors, get your head in the game. There are no such thing as—” I pause. “Did you just see a flying cat?” I ask.

“Ha, told you miss no to everything!” Annabelle teases me.

“Let’s go!” I yell sharply and head to the creepy door.

“What? Nooo . . . wait, wait I meant to do the opposite!”

She yells and heads the other way. “Uh . . . fine. But, I’m only coming because I don’t know how to get home from here!” She says turning around. I ring the doorbell.

“Trick-or-treat!” We say together. A woman who had barky skin. She was evil. She gave me a piece of candy. “Come on Ann—” I say. Shocked, I ran home. I find myself near a lake. What am I doing here?

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826michigan

inspires school-

aged students to write with skill a nd confiden ce in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing.

Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members.

We believe that with one-on-one attention from caring adults, students improve their academic performance, develop a sense of belonging, and discover the unique value of their voices.

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We also believe

that

the more fun a student has, a nd the more directly we speak to a student’s interests, the more we ca n help students find the fun in learning.

That’s why our programs are more than just extra homework. All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in their individual voice.

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2020 Programs ONLINE LEARNING LAB In the spring of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly transitioned all of our programs online. Our priority is to ensure the safety of our community, while continuing to offer engaging, high-quality opportunities to students. Each of our main programs—Schoolwork Support, Workshops, Field Trips, and In-school Projects—has been reimagined for the virtual space as part of our new Online Learning Lab. For the 2020–21 school year, our programs will remain virtual. When it is safe to return to our inperson programs, we plan to continue to offer virtual program opportunities as well!

SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT The program formerly-known as tutoring has been given an updated name, but the same great foundations remain.

We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school. Schoolwork Support is available for all subjects, for students ages 8–18.

Generally, we offer this program at three locations: at our Liberty Street Lab in Ann Arbor, at the Michigan Avenue Branch of the Ypsilanti District Library, and at our Winder Street Lab in Detroit’s Eastern Market, though in-person programs are on pause this year. We have added a Virtual Schoolwork Support program. Students are paired with two tutors to work on assignments for school and writing projects of their choosing.

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WORKSHOPS We offer a number of free workshops taught by professional artists, writers, and our talented volunteers.

From comic books to screenplays, bookmaking to radio, our wide variety of workshops are perfect for writers of all ages and interests.

IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS Our trained volunteers go into local public schools every day to support teachers with their classroom writing assignments. Based on the teacher’s curriculum, assignments range from writing tales to crafting college essays to exploring poetry. In addition, we hold regular Writers Clubs, in which small groups of students are able to work on a writing project over the course of a semester, culminating in a publication. We also partner with schools to hold Family Writing Labs: laughter-filled events in which families to come together and participate in an evening of engaging writing activities and community connection.

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FIELD TRIPS Always full of surprises and theatrics (and usually a visit from our crotchety editor, Dr. Blotch), our Field Trip program is an experiential writing extravaganza. We welcome teachers to bring their classes in for field trips during the school day. Students join a group of volunteers, interns, and staff to help solve a problem through writing— whether that is Dr. Blotch’s insomnia, our looming story deadline, a mystery in need of solving, or one of the many others we encounter.

Our field trips always end in a finished publication of original writing that students take home. Often the field trip writing is connected to a second leg of the students’ journey, whether a trip to a museum, library, or local record label, thanks to our many incredible community partners.

OUR STORES Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair and the Detroit Robot Factory are one-stop shops for robots, robot owners, and enthusiasts alike. They are designed to inspire creativity and bring awareness of our programs to the community. When it is safe to do so again, come visit the Ann Arbor Robot Supply Co. at 115 East Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor and the Detroit Robot Supply Co. at 1351 Winder Street in Eastern Market in Detroit.

In the meantime, please visit the Robot Supply Co. at onwardrobots.com. All proceeds from our stores directly fund our free student programming.

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Onward Robots!

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WRITING IS

A way to figure things out by ourselves

We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking)

A way to help us connect to our world

We study the writing we want to do so we can try it We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose

A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become

We work with a group of writers who help and support each other

A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world

www.826michigan.org

826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards.

Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.

We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start.

And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.

by Gerald Richards, CEO